“What Exit” Wines Raise $$ For Good Causes

Ringoes winery teams up with Newark art project.

The three What Exit wines in their custom labels designed for Newark's Gateway Project by Samer Fouad and Crystal Gwyn of CREDIT Studio.

Back in 2012, Old York Cellars, a winery in Ringoes, started a line called What Exit Wines to help raise money for charity.

“Our first batch of What Exit Red was still in the tanks when Hurricane Sandy destroyed the homes and livelihoods of so many of our neighbors,” Old York explains on its website. “This tragedy sparked our desire to use What Exit Wines to support those less fortunate by  donating proceeds from every bottle sold. Since its launch in July of 2013, we have raised over $13,000 for Sandy Relief, Hometown Heroes, and many other New Jersey based charities.”

Old York recently teamed up with the Gateway Project in Newark to help support adventurous art. The Gateway Project is a non-profit art gallery and studio space on three levels of Newark’s 2 Gateway Center, which is connected by skyways and pedestrian malls with Penn Station, a Hilton Hotel and the Newark Legal Center office building.

Art exhibits in the Gateway Project rotate every six weeks, with free admission. The Project also has a highly competitive residency program for artists and rents studio and work spaces to artists.

The Gateway Project Gallery at 2 Gateway Center in Newark.

The Gateway Project Gallery at 2 Gateway Center in Newark.

“The programming usually focuses on topics that may be difficult or that you don’t always come across,” says public affairs director Jennifer Sneed. “There’s a large focus on activism and justice. Multi-disciplinary art pieces are displayed in the gallery and on the concourse level.”

Old York’s What Exit endeavor offers non-profits a choice of three wines (red, white and blush) to sell under a label customized for each non-profit.

The Gateway Project’s label is a grid of small white dots on a black field. Sneed says the pattern, called Through the Gates, “refers to the interior landscape of architecture and interior design of the Gateway Center. The dot pattern is an abstracted monolith that also acts as a door, guiding visitors from Newark Penn Station to the city’s streets. It is a visual play on the idea of a gate. The repetition of the dots also [implies] an ongoing process.”

The What Exit wines can be purchased through the Old York website or directly at the winery. Each bottle sells for $22, of which $5 goes to the individual charity. If the wines are purchased in 3-packs, the organization receives $6 per bottle.

The wines are all under 14 percent alcohol by volume. “We tried to create wines that have a very broad appeal,” says Narendra Haynes, the vineyard’s marketing manager. “In terms of flavor profile, they are fruit forward.”

Old York Cellars
80 Old York Road
Ringoes
908-284-9463
http://oldyorkcellars.com/whatexitwines

The Gateway Project
2 Gateway Center
289-299 Market Street
Newark
gatewayprojectspaces.com
gatewayprojectspaces.com/what-exit-wines/

 

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